JACK KNEW he wasn’t imagining the dirty looks he was getting from the table full of teenage boys whispering conspiratorially in the booth closest to the door.
He thought it pretty unlikely they had anything to do with his assignment and everything to do with the girls who had taken to dropping by the diner every day to drink endless refills of soda and flirt with him. Though he had tried to keep his interactions strictly business, they were persistent and not easily put off by his indifference.
“I’m betting that’s trouble.”
Ronnie sidled up to him while he was putting on a fresh pot of coffee. He glanced at her as she nodded toward the boys, who had become increasingly rowdy.
“I’m on it,” he sighed.
He walked over to the table, four pairs of hostile eyes turning on him when he asked, “What can I get you?”
The four boys were dressed similarly in T-shirts and khaki shorts, but it was easy to figure out the hierarchy. Alpha male, the leader of the group, sat on the outside edge of the bench seat, facing the door. His blue eyes were that little bit colder than the rest of the gang, and his body had tensed when Jack approached. His lieutenant was sitting beside him, everything about his posture deferring to his leader, his eyes darting quickly to Jack before returning to fix back on his friend. The two boys sitting opposite were clearly muscle. They were watching with interest but little real engagement as their alpha spoke up.
“You’re new in town.”
“Yep.” Jack would have liked to leave it at that, but Dr. Clarke, the Center’s behavioral psychologist, had lectured endlessly on body language and speech patterns, and he knew a monosyllabic answer could be interpreted as belligerence so he added, “Arrived a couple of weeks ago.”
“I’m not interested in your fucking life story,” the alpha sneered.
Jack sighed quietly. So much for Dr. Clarke’s advice. The rest of the boys laughed loudly, and the muscle nudged each other. Not that Jack needed the extra clues, but it now seemed obvious the boys were here to screw with him.
“Can I get you anything?” he said, allowing a little edge to creep into his voice. Without turning his head, he located Leo, standing a little way off. He looked engrossed in taking his own order, but Jack was sure he was tuned in to this conversation and wouldn’t miss a word or gesture.
“Coffee,” the alpha growled.
Jack nodded and turned away. He purposely ignored the lieutenant’s loud comment, “He ain’t all that,” and the other boys’ hurried agreement. As he was pouring coffee into four mugs, Leo appeared at his side.
“Jealous boyfriend?”
Jack grimaced. “That’s my guess.”
“The pretty blonde with the amazing legs and look-at-me cleavage?”
Jack huffed out a laugh. “Not that I was taking that much notice, but yeah, I think that’s the one.”
“Told you she was trouble,” Leo said smugly.
It hadn’t exactly been a news flash. Her name was Taylor, and despite Jack’s lack of response every time she flirted with him, she had never given up. He knew she had a boyfriend—any girl that pretty and confident usually did, and her friends looked uncomfortable every time she made her interest clear.
Sean had been adamant when Jack included her in his daily reports. “Shut it down. I know I told you to date a little, but she sounds like trouble. You don’t need this kind of attention.”
“I’m trying,” Jack protested. “I don’t think she’s used to being turned down.”
Sean tapped the back of his hand sharply. “Do it. I want it quick and clean. Figure out how.”
Jack had done his best to let her down firmly but kindly, telling her he was already in a relationship, something he didn’t feel he needed to embellish with the finer details. Although it would have made life simpler if he’d told her he was sleeping with Leo, it wasn’t Alex Sutherland’s truth, so it couldn’t be Jack Elliot’s. She seemed to accept the news, but looking back, Jack realized he should have been warier of the cold look that had momentarily distorted her pretty face.
As Jack returned to the table, balancing four steaming mugs of coffee on a tray, he wondered whether this was Taylor’s revenge for being rejected, whether she had told her boyfriend he had been bothering her and the guy was here to stake his claim.
He deposited the coffee mugs onto the table, hoping to get away cleanly, but unsurprised when one of the boy’s said, “We need more sugar.”
Jack glanced at the bowl that held all the packets of sugar and sweetener, knowing he’d filled it first thing in the morning as always. All the packets had been torn open and the sugar dumped in a heap onto the table.
He looked up at the boy who had spoken, registering the smirk on his face, and then he wordlessly turned on his heel and returned to the lunch counter. He grabbed a handful of packages, considered for a moment before adding some containers of milk and cream, and then returned to the table. He dumped the sugar into the empty bowl, and before the boy could even open his mouth, he put the dairy products onto the table, noting that all the original milk and cream packages had been opened and poured out.
“What about the fucking mess?” The alpha, who was probably Taylor’s boyfriend, pointed to the sugar and cream splashed all over the table. “Jesus, what a dump.”
Jack pulled a cloth out of his back pocket, his hand brushing against the knife snugged up against his spine. He allowed himself a brief moment of satisfaction, predicting the look on these boys’ faces if they knew what he was carrying, and then put the thought firmly out of his mind.
As he leaned forward to mop up the mess, one of the boys tipped his coffee cup over, deliberately aiming its hot contents at Jack. He’d moved a fraction of a second faster, reading the boy’s intention so easily the kid might as well have sent a text. The boy looked surprised, his wide-eyed gaze darting around the table at his friends.
Jack quickly cleaned the table and turned to go.
“Hey, asshole. What about my coffee?”
Jack gave the boy a hard stare. “I’ll get you a new cup.”
Dr. Clarke taught that engaging with the enemy only led to escalation, so he’d done what was expected and played her angle of nonconfrontation. But as Jack poured a fresh cup of coffee, he knew he’d only done it to satisfy Sean when quizzed about how he’d handled the situation. These boys wanted trouble, and no amount of Dr. Clarke’s advice was going to change that.
He caught Leo’s eye as he passed on his way back to the table. Leo gave a short nod, a mute signal of support. Jack slammed the coffee mug down in front of the boy and backed up a step.
The boyfriend looked at him, and then he jerked his chin, and all four boys tipped their mugs and spilled coffee onto the table. There was silence for a long moment as the coffee pooled in the center of the table and then slowly began to drip off the edge and onto the wooden plank flooring.
“Clean it up,” the boyfriend ordered.
Jack raised his head and leveled a cool look at the kid, letting his expression harden and showing something of what he was feeling and what he was capable of doing about it. The boy flinched, but he wasn’t about to back down in front of his crew.
“I said clean up the fucking mess, asshole,” he said distinctly. His friends laughed nervously, sounding a little less sure of themselves.
Jack quickly weighed up his options: he could refuse and cope with the inevitable fallout, or he could swallow his pride and step forward to clean up the mess. If he chose to take the boys on, he’d draw unwanted attention to himself, and Sean would have a shit fit. Despite the angry flush coursing through him, Jack knew he had to suck it up. Putting the assignment in jeopardy just to save face in front of a bunch of sullen teenagers was not an option. He had just forced his clenched muscles to unfreeze when he heard a voice over his shoulder.
“You boys get the hell out of here, and don’t ever think about coming back.”
Ronnie stepped up beside him, a scowl on her face and hands on her hips, her tone leaving no doubt she was pissed.
The boyfriend opened his mouth, but Ronnie cut him off. “Jason Davis, you say one more word and I’ll call your mother. Do you think she’ll want to hear how you behaved here today?”
Jason looked abashed. He closed his mouth with a snap and squirmed in his seat. The rest of the boys glanced away, looking anywhere but at Ronnie.
“Out!” Ronnie barked. “I don’t want to see your sorry faces back in here again.”
The boys shuffled quickly out of the booth, skirting Ronnie warily as they walked toward the door.
“This isn’t over,” Jason muttered under his breath.
Jack could have written this script himself, so he didn’t bother to respond. When the four boys left, slamming the door dramatically behind them, Ronnie turned on Jack.
“Honey, you do not have to put up with that shit around here,” she exclaimed. “If you ever run into that kind of trouble, you ask one of us for help, you hear me?”
Jack looked down at the floor, his awkwardness not entirely faked. “I don’t want to get anybody into trouble,” he said.
“The only trouble will be to brats who behave like that. We look after our own here.” She nodded toward the table. “But you still have to clean up that mess,” she added, her smile taking the sting out of the order.
LATER, WHEN they were walking home, Leo gave him a curious look. “You could have handled those punks easily.”
Jack snorted. “Right. Wipe the floor with them, and then get my ass kicked by Sean for breaking character in public.”
“It would have been self-defense,” Leo said. “Sean would have got that.”
Jack shook his head incredulously. “Have you met my handler? He isn’t exactly all about forgiveness and understanding.”
“But he doesn’t expect you to roll over and let anybody dump on you,” Leo argued.
“I thought I could avoid the whole mess if I played along,” Jack said.
Leo shook his head. “You know that isn’t going to happen. They’re not going to let you off that easily. You saw that on Jason’s face.”
“Yeah, I know,” Jack said glumly. “I just have to find out how far I can retaliate before I have to take a dive.”
Sean was totally clear on the subject. “Sorry, Jack, but if they come at you in public, you have to fold. You can get in a few shots of your own, and obviously you have to defend yourself, but in the end you have to go down. Alex Sutherland couldn’t take on four boys by himself. Jack Elliot shouldn’t be able to either.”
“Crap! How is it I’m trained to defend myself against every damned eventuality, but I still end up having the shit kicked out of me on a regular basis?”
This wasn’t the first time Jack had been instructed to take a dive while on assignment. That was the trouble with copying the lives of regular kids, he thought sourly. None of them had been trained to the Center’s exacting standards; none of them were expected to be able to defend themselves in extraordinary circumstances.
“If it makes you feel any better, you can do whatever it takes if they come at you outside public view,” Sean said. “They’ll wonder how you can take them all on, but it’s doubtful they’ll want to talk too much about four of them being creamed by a sweetheart like you.”
Jack ducked as Sean reached out to ruffle his hair.
“No weapons, though,” Sean warned. “That would have them asking too many questions.”
“So you think I can take all of them with my bare hands?” Jack groused.
Sean grinned. “I have absolutely no doubt. I know what lies behind that innocent look.”
TWO DAYS later Jack was glad he’d clarified his instructions with Sean. He and Leo were chatting idly as they walked home after the late shift when they rounded a corner onto a quiet side street and saw the four boys from the diner ranged in front of them, cutting off their access.
“I guess it’s on.” Leo sighed, casting a look at Jack. “Keep your knife out of it if you can. They’re just kids.”
Kids who wanted to throw down, Jack thought. Kids who thought it was okay to gang up and outnumber an opponent. He nodded agreement, though. They’d have to face a lot worse odds than two-on-one before it was fair for them to use their weapons. He was glad Leo was beside him, not because he didn’t think he could take all of them, but because it would hurt his assignment less if he didn’t so obviously break character.
“I’ll take Jason and the one to his right,” Jack said.
“Got it,” Leo said. “Try not to do too much damage.”
“They’re the ones attacking me,” Jack muttered. He raised his head. “What do you want?”
Jason stepped forward. “You’ve been hitting on Taylor Andrews. She’s my girlfriend,” he said, confirming what Jack had already worked out for himself. “That’s not going to fly.”
“I have no interest in your girlfriend. I’ve already told her that.”
“Bullshit,” Jason sneered. “She told me you’ve been bothering her.”
“If she didn’t like it, maybe she should have steered clear of the diner,” Leo chimed in.
Jack shot him a disbelieving look. “Not helping.”
Leo shrugged. “They’re not going to back off. Better to deal with this now.”
He had a point. The boys weren’t going to just walk away. It was probably best to put this thing to rest once and for all and concentrate on the assignment.
“It’s a free country,” Jason shouted. “You shouldn’t have fucked with her. Now we’re going to fuck with you.”
“That’s original,” Leo breathed, and Jack had to swallow down a laugh.
“You and your boyfriend are going to find out what happens when you screw with the wrong people,” one of the other boys jeered.
Leo didn’t bother to hide his own laughter. “If they only knew,” he said softly.
The boys began to move forward, and Leo threw Jack a look, his mouth quirking into a grin. He took off his glasses and folded them up, then tucked them into the top pocket of his shirt. “Ready, boyfriend?”
“Let’s do it,” Jack sighed.
Though their attackers were fit and fairly strong, they were also uncoordinated, untrained, and totally inept. They threw wild punches that didn’t have a hope in hell of landing, they tripped over their own feet in their haste, and they telegraphed their moves so badly they might as well have told Jack and Leo what they planned to do.
Leo didn’t even pretend there was any challenge. The grin stayed on his face the whole time he danced around his opponents, and it didn’t take him more than four minutes to have them both on the ground.
Jack took his time, dodging flying fists and kicks with so little force behind them that all they did was unbalance his adversary and make it easier for him to land his own punches.
He easily overpowered Jason’s friend, waiting until he launched a totally useless attack and then sweeping his legs out from underneath him and dumping him onto the hard concrete. Jason’s eyes widened, but he continued swinging until Jack took a step forward and landed a hard punch to the boy’s gut.
Jason doubled over, coughing and gasping for air.
“That should do it,” Leo said approvingly. He stepped around Jason and his boys and slung an arm around Jack’s neck. “Your place?”
Jack glanced at their opponents, seeing that none of them looked likely to continue the fight. “If you don’t mind listening to Sean’s lecture on choices.”
Leo laughed. “I can handle Sean. Let’s go.”
He tugged, and Jack fell into step beside him. He turned his head, feeling almost sorry at Jason’s look of incredulous shock.